Rolling mill



Sept. 26, -1939.

E. R. NoRRls ROLLING MILL 3 sheet-sheet 1 Filed March 2, 1 936 Q) INVENTOR Sept. 26, 1939. u E. R. NoRRls RLLING MILL I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 2', 1936 Sept.26,1939. En. NORRIS L 2,174,195

ROLLING MILL Filed'uarch 2, 1936 3 sheets-sheet 5 1.9 l :-ZI

QQ`LL`1E l *22 -lNvEN'roR Patented Sept. 26, 1939 UNITE D57 STATES Claims.

'I'hisfinventioh relates to the art of rolling and particlarlylto the rollingof sheet metal although itfinayflbe applicable to the rolling of other ProidiirztsiA 5 'f" Millsforrolling-sheet metalr usually comprise twoframes or housings,withadjusting screws and-fa? plurality of cooperating rolls between two of whichthe material to be reduced is passed. Thstressesrequiredto reduce the material pro- 4duce equaland opposing stresses in the housings,screws'andfrollsThus the housings are stretched, the screws are compressed, and the rollsare distortedor bent. In an attempt to compensatefor this!l bending of the rolls and to H-insurethe'productionlof material of uniform thicknesspit has been the4 custom to grind the rolls -w-ith Tacrownfor convexity.- The amount of crown necessary'tomakthis correction must be varied to suit the magnitude-of the lstressesin the %"ifolls,`which stressesaredependent on the width of material, the amount of reduction, and the character of theymaterial being-rolled.

It is apparent therefore that the provisionof convexity in the roll-faces` isvnot` a flexible 'solu- 251ltion' ofthe problem of rollfbending. While it is possible to 'changetheroll contour by grinding the rollswhile 1in the `mill,in many cases it is necessary 'to remove the 'rolls and replace them. In either case the delayfinvolved seriously re- "Vduc'e's the output of the mill;

Inraccordance Avvitlri'iny invention, I employ trulybylindricalmrolls and-transfer the total rolling loads :fro'mflthe `-rolls lto supporting means aboveandbelow theltop andi bottom rolls rerspectivelyhto maintain a truly lat pass between the l"rolls"regardless"of the width or character of the{materialibeingrolled or the extent of reductions-"beingeffected lThe -rolls fare kept parallel by various v(or diierential) adjustments 'of the li0--`s`up1 io1ting meansfat different points along the face'rof `the rolls. -The differences in adjustments compensate for the deflection lof the supporting means-caused by the rolling loads.

In a preferred form of the invention, a pair o cylindrical rollstarejournaled in spaced housings. Girdersextendbetween the f housings above the toproll and below the bottom roll.- Each girder is provided with aplurality of independently adjustable bearings `adapted to engage vthe face of lthe rolland applybacking-up pressure thereto.

This'arrangement notonly permits the pass betweentherolls to be maintained perfectly dat when the rollsarenewly ground, but also providesa atpass even after the rolls have become worn to a somewhat'concave outline, since a greater backing up pressure can be applied to the wornparts-oi the roll than to the other parts and the cooperating faces of the rolls thus maintained precisely parallel.

For a complete understanding of the invention (o1. en -i561 reference is madeto thefaccompanying drawings illustratingJajpreferredfembodiment and'practice although L,it will be understood fthatvariationsl in both thefconstructiii andl'operation as illustrated may be madewithirithe's'copeof `my broader Y claims.

In thed-rawings Figure l'is a sideelevat-ion" of themill :with

one end thereof shown-"insection on av central plane; Frigjz isa sectional viewaiong-the une `1144-11 of.

Fig. Sis an endelevationj Fig. 4 is a diagranrshowingthe relative positions of certain parts when the jmill is not rolling material; `andl Fig. 5 is a similar'viewof theparts when the mill is rollingmaterial.

Referring now in `detailito thef'drawings, the20V millcomprises arpair of spacedhousings4 I and' il. These housingsmay'be "of, substantiallythe usual form provided witlfeet *i2 adapte'dto beH ings, having notched ends "Il resting onthe bot-` toms lof thewindowsf i5. The top-face of the girder I6 liasav channel i8 extending lon'gitudie nally thereof; A plurality-of bearing blocks Vi9 extend cross-'wise of thechannel I8 and'have bearing surfaces 20' o`f `any'suitab`lel material.

The bearingdolocks` I9 are-adjustable vertically by meansv of wedges-'2l and wedge blocks f Screws 23 for 'adjusting thewedge blocks hori- Zontally are threaded into the Jfgirder ri from opposite sides. l

A bottom 1oll"24l is supporte'don-the inserts 29 of theloearing` blocks 19. The roll 2li has necks A275 Vjournaledin bearings 26;" The lbearings are held in alignment withthe housings by keepers 2'! overhanging the sidesfof the windows l5."

The bearings' 26 preferably sustain only the axial thrust on the roll 24,"the radialload 'being' 'carried' entirely on the blocks i9. "'Ihebearings 26 have depending portions 28 adapted to project downwardly into the-channel I8.`

A girder 29 also extends between the housings and is provided with notched ends 3i) adapted to engage against `'the 'tops of the windows, in

the same-mannerthatthe girder I6 is supported bearing blocks 33, wedges 34, and wedge blocks 35, the latter having adjusting screws 36.

A top roll 3l is disposed between the bearing blocks 33 and the bottom roll 34, the necks thereof being journaled in bearings 38 similar to the bearings 26 already described. Both rolls have one end shaped as at 39 to provide a driving connection,

It will be apparent that the shape and thickness of the pass between the rolls 24 and 31 will be determined by the adjustment of the screws 23 and 3B along the face of the roll. It will be noted from the drawings that the rolls have a smaller ratio of diameter to length than has heretofore been employed in designing mill rolls for rolling thin sheet material. Rolls having the ratio of those shown would, of course, lack the rigidity necessary to roll at material without convexity, were it not for the adjustable bearings I9 and 33 which permit the shape of the pass to be controlled. In this respect, it is desirable that the rolls be somewhat non-rigid, in order that they will conform to the contour determined by the adjustment of the several bearing blocks I9 and 33.

If the rolls 34 and 31 have been newly ground to a truly cylindrical contour, and the mill is to be used for rolling material say two-thirds as wide as the roll faces are long, the screws 23 and 36 will be adjusted to give the desired thickness of pass, but the screws adjacent the center of the mill will be given a further adjustment to compensate for bending of the girders due to the rolling load. The girders I6 and 29 which back up the bearings I9 and 33 are deflected by the rolling load, as shown, to an exaggerated extent in Fig. 5. By initially adjusting the blocks I9 as shown in Fig. 4, however, I am able to roll perfectly flat material since this compensates for girder deflection by applying more screw using mill parlance, to the center of the roll than to the ends.

It has heretofore been the practice in some mills when starting with newly ground rolls, to roll first the widest widths on order and then roll successively the narrower widths so that the wear on the rolls resulting from the rolling of the narrower widths will not introduce a nonuniformity in the thickness of the wider material. This invention makes it unnecessary to follow the wide to narrow sequence in rolling various widths of material. If the center part of the rolls has been subjected to more wear than the ends, this can be taken up by tightening the adjusting screws adjacent the center and thereby maintaining a flat pass between the rolls. rlhe invention is also advantageous in that it permits the use of truly cylindrical rolls. A truly cylindrical face can be provided on the roll more cheaply than the convex contour which has been necessary heretofore. Since the diameter of the roll, according to my invention, can be less for a given axial length, the weight and cost of the rolls are reduced.

The small diameter roll is advantageous in another way besides cost. For any given reduction in material of given character the rolling loads are proportional approximately to the square root of the roll diameter. A ten inch diameter roll will have only half the load of a forty inch roll with same material and reduction. The top roll normally rests on the bottom roll until material is introduced therebetween although spring or hydraulic supports may be provided for maintaining the top roll against its backing structure.

Although I have illustrated and described but one preferred form and practice of the invention, changes thereon may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

.I claim:

1. In a rolling mill, the combination with a pair of spaced housings, a girder extending between said housings, a longitudinal channel formed in said girder, bearing blocks adjustably supported in said channel, a roll resting on said blocks, said roll having a neck, and a thrust bearing embracing the neck, said thrust bearingl j having a portion extending into said channel.

2. A rolling mill comprising spaced housings,

bracing said necks and having portions extend- Y ing into said channels.

3. A rolling mill comprising a pair of spaced housings, each having a window therein, a pair of girders extending between said housings, one of said girders having its ends seated against the tops of said windows and the other girder hav-l ing its ends seated against the bottoms of said windows, a channel formed in each of the adjacent surfaces of said girders, a plurality of iixed bearing blocks provided with arcuate, concave surfaces having sliding engagement with the body of a mill roll, seated in said channels, an adjustable wedge block between each bearing block and the bottom of its channel, a pair of parallel rolls having their bodies disposed respectively against the blocks carried by said girders, and thrust bearings for each of said rolls,

4. A rolling mill comprising a pair of spaced housings, each having a window therein, a pair of girders extending between said housings, one of said girders having its ends seated against the tops of said windows and the other girder having its ends seated against the bottoms of said windows, a channel formed in each of the adjacent surfaces of said girders, a plurality yof, fixed bearing blocks provided with arcuate, concave surfaces having sliding engagement with the body of a mill roll, seated in each of said channels, a pair of parallel rolls having their bodies disposed respectively against the blocks carried by said girders, thrust bearings for each of said rolls, and means for adjusting said bearing blocks individually relative to said girders.

5. In a rolling mill, the combination with spaced housings, vertically spaced girders extending therebetween, and a pair of rolls disposed between the girders and extending beaol-1 tween the housings, of a plurality of bearings in EDWIN R. NORRIS. 

